SE VA Select Bank & Credit Union Branches

I personally bank with a number of institutions, using a blended strategy of local branches for local services and online banks. If going for local branches in SE VA, I recommend considering the above. Toggle the options on the top left.

Benefits of Credit Unions: Higher Interest Deposit Accounts than Most Local Banks, But w/ Debit Card Requirements

The highest rates for credit unions that I've seen locally have debit card requirements monthly.

Here's a spreadsheet I put together via Chat GPT:

Institution	Account Type	Up to Balance	Top APY	Qualification Requirements	Withdrawal Limit?
BayPort CU	Checking	$15,000	~5.00% APY	eStatements, 15 debit card TXNs, ACH/dep	No mention of limits
BayPort CU	Savings	$100,000	~2.50% APY	Same qualifiers	No mention of limits
Chartway FCU	Checking	$15,000	~5.00% APY	eStatements, 15 debit TXNs, $500 dep	No mention of limits
1st Advantage FCU	(High Yield) Checking	$7,500	~4.00% APY	10 debit TXNs (excl ATM), eStatements	No mention of limits
1st Advantage FCU	(High Yield) Savings	$50,000	~2.00% APY	Monthly direct deposit	No mention of limits
Langley FCU	Savings	$10,000	4.00% APY	eStatements and limits withdrawals to 1/mo	1 withdrawal per month
Langley FCU	(Platinum) Checking	minimum of 10,000 to earn interest w/ platinum checking account	.75% APY

Benefits of Big Banks: Low Interest Rates, But Many Branches & Some Good Credit Cards

One of the biggest perks of working with the big banks is their big reach. Some of these institutions also have some of the most sought-after credit cards in the credit card points world.

Per Chat GPT, here are the rankings for the top issuers of cards that also have local branches ranked:

1. JPMorgan Chase (A decent number of local branches; I have more cards with Chase than any other institution with local branches)

2. Bank of America (Plenty of local branches; I have 1 card w/ bank of America and a Roth IRA there w/ Preferred Rewards Gold Status, that has no fees to Bank of America [Merrill Edge] yet the amount in the account [for accounts over $20k] still provides extra credit card perks)

3. Citigroup (I have 5 credit cards with them)

4. Capital One (no branches in Hampton Roads, but available in Greater Richmond; I have 4 credit cards with them)

5. Wells Fargo (plenty of local branches; I have 1 card w/ them w/ more planned)

6. US Bank (no local branches, only a mortgage branch in Midlothian; I have 1 card with them & more planned)

7. PNC Bank (decent number of local branches; not much going for them w/ credit cards last I checked)

Online Banks w/ Very Limited if Any Branch Footprint Throughout US

American Express

1. American Express (no branches in VA, & limited branch footprint, but I have 8 credit cards w/ them) (#5 for Credit Cards Issued in US)

2. Synchrony Financial (no local branches; I have some deposit accounts with them. They have good rates & allow multiple of the same kind of account and have great perks after holding an account for 5 years, including a few fee free outgoing wire transfers per month)

3. Barclays (no local branches; I have a few credit cards with them)

One of the best places to compare rates is DepositAccounts, but be sure to scroll past the initial advertising down to the ones ranked by APY.

If looking for military-friendly institutions, see: